i just bought my 06 xlt in jan. haven't really drove it that much since then. last weekend i decided to change the oil. thursday had issues while driving to work. bogged down several times and got an engine light could only drive about 40mph. took it to the ford garage said it was the cam phaser or the solenoid. when i changed the oil i used a napa gold filter and valvoline premium conventional 5w-20. should i have used synthetic blend. could this be my problem? i just read in the owners manual syn. blend(us) premium(can). i have never owned a vehicle that required syn blend or synthetic oil.

 

you should use the synthetic blend oil but thats not the cause of your problem at least in 1 oil change its not 04+ 3v 5.4's are very sensitive to what oil they like and long term use of oil that is the wrong viscosity will lead to cam phaser problems. You dont know what the guy before you really did as far as maintenance goes. Regular oil should not be a problem you used decent oil and a good filter and in 1 oil change it isnt going to cause them to fail, The guy who sold it to you probably knew the cam phasers were bad. You got unlucky and bought a broken truck.

 

thanks jethat i will put the syn blend in tomorrow after work. its a good thing i bought the esp warranty it only has 22000 miles on it

 

I use the motorcraft synthetic blend get it at walmart. Napa gold is good but i use the motorcraft fl820s. most here do.

 

Good deal because you just got your moneys worth from it if it is your cam phasers.

 

Those both meet Ford specs. That's not the reason for your issues. Napa Gold filters are made by Wix and you are using the correct viscosity oil. If you use conventional instead of semi-synthetic oil, you just have to change it a bit more often, that's all.